Tuesday’s Campaign Round-Up, 8.12.14

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that won’t necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:

* It’s Primary Day in Connecticut, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. And while there are no major statewide contests, there are a few races to keep an eye on.

* In Kentucky, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) may be unpopular, but his lead over Allison Lundergran Grimes (D) appears to be getting slightly bigger. PPP now shows the incumbent up, 44% to 40%, with Libertarian David Patterson getting 7% support.

* In Alaska, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) wants Sen. Mark Begich (D) to pull his ad showing them smiling and telling viewers they usually vote together. Begich, at least for now, is ignoring the request. “I think it’s very factual – 80 percent of the time, we vote together,” he said on msnbc yesterday.

* In response to a court order, Florida’s Republican-led legislature approved a new congressional map last night and sent it to Gov. Rick Scott (R) for his signature. It didn’t change much, so whether it will pass judicial muster is unclear.

* In Hawaii, voters in two precincts who were unable to cast ballots over the weekend will now be able to vote this Friday, Aug. 15. The tallies may affect the U.S. Senate primary, though appointed incumbent Sen. Brian Schatz (D) appears to have the edge.

* Speaking of New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) support has weakened a bit following his Moreland Commission controversy, but a new Siena poll still shows him with a 32-point lead over his Republican challenger.

* In still more New York news, a state judge ruled yesterday that Zephyr Teachout can take on Cuomo in a Democratic gubernatorial primary on Sept. 9. Cuomo’s lawyers had argued that Teachout did not meet eligibility rules.

* And in Connecticut, a Democratic running for a probate judge seat is taking heat because her husband is a white supremacist. “He did not have those views when we married, but acquired them after,” Anna Zubkova told a local newspaper last week. “What am I supposed to do? Divorce him?” I’ll assume that’s a rhetorical question.